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Dave Matthews appreciates his voice more now than ever

Dave Matthews performing acoustic for <em>World Cafe</em> in his home studio.
Stephen Kallao
/
WXPN
Dave Matthews performing acoustic for World Cafe in his home studio.

Dave Matthews is in the zone. He's in his home studio in Seattle alongside his producer, Rob Evans, cranking through several takes of new songs he's playing for our acoustic performance, checking in occasionally to make sure the nice folks at World Cafe were comfortable. Affable and self-deprecating in equal measure, I must inform you the rumors are true: Dave really is the nicest guy in the music industry.

We're visiting Seattle to talk about his band's new album, Walk Around The Moon. Happy Dave Matthews Band release day, by the way, to all those who celebrate. Conceived during the pandemic, it's a record that Dave says he created "to put more joy into the world." I sat down with him to talk about the album, why he appreciates his voice more now than ever, and I asked him about his more overzealous supporters — his thoughts might surprise you. Hear our chat and a live in-studio acoustic performance above.

Copyright 2023 XPN

Miguel Perez
Miguel Perez is a radio producer for NPR's World Cafe, based out of WXPN in Philadelphia. Before that, he covered arts, music and culture for KERA in Dallas. He reported on everything from the rise of NFTs in the music industry to the enduring significance of gay and lesbian bars to the LGBTQ community in North Texas.